Gospel of Blood

In the training grounds of the Count’s residence, the personal guards in their short training outfits were training while curiously watching the black cat running laps around the entire mansion.

“Huff, huff…”

The overweight Nice, dragging its almost spherical body, ran with a look of utter despair, panting heavily and not daring to stop for a moment.

Seeing the exhausted and depressed black cat, the personal guards couldn’t help but laugh.

“Sir Nice, did you get caught peeping at the maids and get punished by the Countess again?”

“Scram! This Lord Cat is exercising! Exercising, you know?!”

Nice glared at them angrily.

“Yes, yes, you’re right. Exercising.”

“Sir Nice, you keep exercising. We’re going inside for some refreshments.”

“Oh, it’s so hot today. I heard the maids prepared some of the Countess’ specially invented iced lemon tea.”

“Would you like a cup, Sir Nice?”

“Hey, don’t bother Sir Nice. Sir Nice still has to train.”

“Exactly!”

Watching these gloating personal guards, Nice’s flat face twisted in frustration.

Thinking about Charlotte’s refreshing and thirst-quenching iced lemon tea, Nice swallowed a mouthful of saliva and angrily said,

“Scram, scram, scram! You heartless lot! Go drink your iced lemon tea! Don’t expect this Lord Cat to reinforce the magical arrays on the training grounds for you anymore!”

“Hahahahaha!”

The personal guards laughed heartily, arms around each other’s shoulders, as they walked inside, filling the training ground with a joyous atmosphere.

Inside the mansion, Charlotte stood by the second-floor window, watching the training ground, and shook her head gently.

Nice, this guy, though highly capable, never puts on airs and quickly blends in with others. But his lecherous nature keeps acting up now and then, and despite all this time, he still hasn’t changed, which is exasperating.

“The punishment wasn’t harsh enough.”

Charlotte snorted softly, turned back to her desk, and spread out the map on it.

It was a map of the Myria continent.

The map wasn’t accurate. Compared to the “entire continent” Charlotte saw upon waking from her time travel, it was only similar at best, with many areas even completely disproportionate.

And the “Old Continent” was not depicted at all.

Still, it was the most comprehensive map of Myria available.

Charlotte looked at the map, more specifically at the red dots marked on it.

These were locations Nice had marked, indicating the possible coordinates of undiscovered ancient temples.

She had already checked Nice’s body. This guy… really did use a divine statue to create a body.

She had never thoroughly investigated before, but this time, using the blood divine power to probe, she discovered the uniqueness of Nice’s body.

Though Nice’s body appeared cat-like, it was essentially a puppet body housing a soul, carrying some traits of a faceless statue, and could even serve as a vessel for God’s descent.

No wonder the Blood Demon Cult had captured Nice back then.

Apart from his outstanding magical abilities, they likely noticed something different about his body. They might not have been able to see its essence like Charlotte did through the blood divine power, but they could sense its special nature.

As for why it was a cat body and not a human one, Nice’s reluctant expression when mentioning it suggested some mistake had occurred.

Although it was a pity, since the statue had been used, Charlotte had to let it go.

As for the other two temples Nice had discovered, according to it, they had already been taken by the Holy Court and Coria, with the statues falling into their hands.

There was nothing to be done about that. Charlotte couldn’t just march into the Theocracy or the Coria Kingdom.

Fortunately, with Nice’s markings, she could arrange for people to investigate in advance.

“Come Eudoxia.”

Charlotte thought for a moment, shook the bell, and transmitted the message magically.

Soon, Eudoxia, dressed in a maid’s outfit, walked in.

“Your Excellency Charlotte, what are your orders?”

She asked with her usual cold voice, neither humble nor arrogant.

Looking at the black dragon maid, who was now quite compliant though not exactly respectful, Charlotte felt a bit emotional.

Dragons indeed revered strength. As long as you were stronger, you could subdue them.

Though black dragons were notoriously rebellious, after spending so much time with Eudoxia, Charlotte felt this did not apply to her.

It might be due to Eudoxia losing her memory and living with werewolves for ten years. Her personality seemed more like those sentimental demi-humans than the sinister and cruel legendary black dragons.

Thinking for a moment, Charlotte smiled.

“Eudoxia, how do you feel about Castell?”

Eudoxia was silent for a while before replying.

“It’s very peaceful, but… too peaceful.”

Charlotte raised an eyebrow.

“Peaceful?”

“More peaceful than when I was with the Blood Demon Cult.”

Eudoxia replied.

Charlotte: …

Well, the Blood Demon Cult was notorious and constantly hunted. Even in the North, they often clashed with various forces, not to mention the internal conflicts described by Albrecht.

“If you find it peaceful, I’ll assign you a task. Hmm… a mission to investigate.”

Charlotte picked up the map.

“Investigate? Investigate what?”

Eudoxia frowned.

“Do you remember the underground temple in Lagrisse Port? I need you to investigate these locations on the map to find similar temples.”

Charlotte said.

As she spoke, a small statue appeared in her hand.

It was a faceless statue.

To be precise, it was a replica Nice made, using blood divine power and extraordinary materials, based on the real statue.

Its effect is simple: to sense other blood divine powers.

This was also something Nice handed over to Charlotte. Although Nice used the actual statue, he managed to tinker with and produce this object.

According to Nice, this replica statue incorporates a model of the ancient temple’s magic array, and its interior is equipped with a similar array, allowing it to detect the presence of blood divine power from a distance.

Nice was able to discover the three ancient temples primarily because of it.

Nice had never dared to bring it out or reveal what he knew about the ancient temples. The main reason was his uncertainty about Charlotte’s attitude and intentions, fearing she might reclaim his body if she knew his secrets.

However, after Charlotte explicitly stated that she wouldn’t covet his puppet cat body, Nice, having confessed his secrets, obediently handed it over.

After obtaining it, Charlotte tried it out and confirmed its ability to sense blood divine power.

She then infused it with her own divine power and applied a 『Divine Blessing』, making the statue a genuine “artifact”, enhancing its detection capability further.

Although she hadn’t tested it, Charlotte estimated that it should now be even more effective at sensing the presence of ancient temples than herself.

“Hmm… Let’s start searching from the Roman Duchy, investigating outward from the red dots. I’ll provide you with the Castell family crest, and you can command personnel from the Castell Merchant Guild in various locations. Of course, the true purpose must remain confidential.”

Charlotte pointed at the red dots on the map and said.

Eudoxia took the map.

Seeing the map full of red dots, her eyes briefly brightened but soon returned to calmness, and she said in a low voice.

“I understand.”

Charlotte noticed the change in Eudoxia’s expression.

It was clear that, during the past two months of following Charlotte, even though they had traveled between the North and the capital, being constantly by her side still made this black dragon feel stifled.

Dragons, especially black dragons, prefer freedom to being constrained.

Now seeing a task that allowed her to roam the entire continent, she quickly became excited.

No wonder Eudoxia had such a deep bond with Noah’s brother, the werewolf.

During those ten years of convalescing underground, only he could communicate and alleviate her boredom. It’s no surprise their bond deepened.

Otherwise, she might have been driven mad by the confinement.

“Remember, once you sense anything, silently recite my name in your heart and inform me immediately.”

Charlotte said.

Eudoxia nodded.

“I understand.”

After receiving the task from Charlotte, Eudoxia departed.

Watching her leave, Charlotte nodded to herself.

The task of searching for ancient temples couldn’t be known to too many people, as it involved the relics of the “True Ancestor of Blood.”

Among her followers, only Yurst, Albrecht, Sebastian, and Eudoxia were capable of taking on this task.

Among the four, Yurst had tasks from the Nez Clan, Albrecht’s loyalty was questionable, and Sebastian had other duties to attend to. Therefore, Eudoxia was the most suitable choice.

With Eudoxia taking the map and leaving, Charlotte stood up to stretch her body and glanced out the window.

In the training ground, the panting Nice had completed his hundred laps under the command of the servant contract and was lying on the ground like a dead dog, gasping for air.

Around him were a few smirking personal guards, some fanning him with leaves, others offering him iced lemon tea, and bursts of laughter and mockery could be heard, creating a joyful atmosphere.

Watching Nice, being ridiculed by the guards on one side and meticulously cared for on the other, Charlotte clicked her tongue.

Sometimes, it was hard to tell whether this perverted cat had high or low emotional intelligence.

Thinking about all the chaotic trouble Nice had caused in the Count’s residence over the past year, Charlotte shook her head again.

She had heard that a sign saying “No males or Nice allowed” had been posted in front of the maids’ changing room.

Hopefully… this guy would learn his lesson.

However she doubted it, as this guy’s mind was filled with dirty thoughts, akin to a dog that couldn’t stop eating their own filth.

Retracting her gaze from the window, Charlotte was about to ring the bell a second time but then realized and instead called out in her mind.

“Sebastian, come to the study.”

Sebastian, as a blood servant, had a deeper contractual bond with Charlotte, allowing her to summon him directly without needing the bell.

Before long, Sebastian, always elegant and dashing in his black tailcoat, appeared before Charlotte.

“Great Master, you summoned Sebastian. Do you have a task for me?”

He bowed respectfully and asked with a smile.

Charlotte nodded and asked.

“What about the detailed content of the doctrine and the compilation of the sacred texts we discussed earlier?”

Sebastian’s expression became serious as he pondered.

“I have quite a few ideas and have drafted parts of it, but it’s still theoretical and not polished enough to present to you.”

“Especially concerning the aspects of darkness and order. Our fundamental tone is to reshape order, but how to reshape order, how to make believers accustomed to ‘light’ accept ‘darkness’, and how to empower believers is a challenge.”

“After all… you can’t turn everyone into bloodborne, and ‘darkness’ is far harder to accept than ‘light.'”

“I believe we need further refinement through practical application to create the most suitable doctrine for you.”

“So… I plan to visit the mining district, communicate with your believers, listen to Luff and the others, and study the Holy Court’s scriptures for any insights.”

Charlotte nodded slightly in approval.

“Good thinking.”

Then she pondered.

“Coincidentally, I have a task that requires you to go to the mining district.”

Sebastian’s interest was piqued.

“Is it related to the mining workshop?”

Charlotte shook her head.

“No, it’s about the believers.”

She propped her chin with her hands and said,

“You mentioned empowering the believers. I have thought about it. There are many ways to empower, not necessarily through the First Embrace, and granting bloodline power doesn’t necessarily mean turning them into bloodborne…”

“I already have some ideas on this matter, and I intend to conduct a trial.”

“As the time for the Gods’ resurgence draws nearer, our time is running out. Before the Gods awaken one after another, we must amass sufficient strength, and I… must gain the power to contend with them.”

“So… the mission of spreading the faith must officially commence. The core doctrine is set, and we can refine the details gradually as we develop, for no religious group is perfect from the start.”

…

After receiving the task from Charlotte, Sebastian departed.

Not long after Sebastian left, a personal guard knocked on the study door.

“Countess, a noble from Starfall, claiming to be your friend, is waiting outside the mansion.”

A noble from Starfall claiming to be my friend?

Charlotte was momentarily puzzled.

A thought crossed her mind, and she seemed to guess something.

Closing her eyes to sense for a moment, a slight smile appeared on Charlotte’s lips.

“It seems… they couldn’t wait any longer.”

She murmured.

Then she told the personal guard.

“Please invite him in, he is indeed my ‘friend’.”